Why do we readers laugh at Ethan, George, Zeena, and Martha?
Everyday in class that we read Ethan Frome was a blast; we laughed, poked fun of, and took great entertainment at the pain of the poor characters in the novella. Why did we find their misfortune amusing? Why do we not feel bad for such awful experiences?
Wharton wrote her novella in a way which allows readers to feel sympathy for all three characters. Though readers understand the inevitability of Ethan's imprisonment in dreamland, Zeena's transformation to a witch, and Mattie's trap in Starkfield, they laugh and find comedy in the character's pain anyway. Readers laugh at Ethan, Mattie, Zeena precisely because they understand and fear the feasibility of an inevitably horrible situation such as Ethan Frome. Humans fear fatalism and need a sense of control. At least 75% of the world [1] base their life philosophy on this fear of total fatalism. Christians and Muslims believe one earns their way to heaven through purity and righteous acts in life. Hindu's and Buddhist believe pure behavior is rewarded after reincarnation. People place faith in religions which grant individuals a degree of control over their fate. Ethan Frome questions these beliefs of underlying control in life. All three characters make decisions which they think most righteous at the time, yet all end up punished by their environment anyway. Harmon Gow explains that the uncontrollable environment of Starkfield traps "smart one" such as Ethan into a life of pain, despite their smart choices; Ethan has "been in Starkfield too many winters," (Wharton 13) and the winters imprison him. The reality that an individual could make their understanding of the all smartest choices in life and still end up imprisoned in a cold hell like Starkfield terrifies readers. Individuals laugh at Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie's victimization to fatalism to cope with fear of the exact same fate befalling themselves. People choose laughter over horror. In this aspect, readers are just like George and Martha from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Human conciseness reverts to jokes and laughter to cope with a reality it does not want to accept, just like the troubled married couple uses games to cope with their harsh reality, "when the world sits too heavy" (Albee). Ethan, too, chooses to dream of love with Mattie over the cold reality that they could not live happily ever after; he was "never so happy ... as when he abandoned himself to these dreams" (Wharton 26). Ethan is just like all people; humans choose laughter, games, and dreamed stories over reality because the illusion of control which these methods grant comforts people. Readers laugh at Ethan because control over laughter is far more pleasant than the rouge roll of dice.
I believe we differ from these characters, however, in that we understand the nature behind our methods for coping with reality. Even as we laugh at their pain, we understand the laughter is a method of avoiding sympathy for their woes. I believe this simple step of acknowledging the sympathy which the characters deserve sets us readers apart from George, Martha, and Ethan. They do not merely choose illusions over reality; they refuse to acknowledge reality altogether. They, almost literally, live in their illusions. Stories such as Ethan Frome and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf exist to warn readers of the consequences of living in total illusion.
Why do we readers laugh at Ethan, George, Zeena, and Martha?
Everyday in class that we read Ethan Frome was a blast; we laughed, poked fun of, and took great entertainment at the pain of the poor characters in the novella. Why did we find their misfortune amusing? Why do we not feel bad for such awful experiences?
Wharton wrote her novella in a way which allows readers to feel sympathy for all three characters. Though readers understand the inevitability of Ethan's imprisonment in dreamland, Zeena's transformation to a witch, and Mattie's trap in Starkfield, they laugh and find comedy in the character's pain anyway. Readers laugh at Ethan, Mattie, Zeena precisely because they understand and fear the feasibility of an inevitably horrible situation such as Ethan Frome. Humans fear fatalism and need a sense of control. At least 75% of the world [1] base their life philosophy on this fear of total fatalism. Christians and Muslims believe one earns their way to heaven through purity and righteous acts in life. Hindu's and Buddhist believe pure behavior is rewarded after reincarnation. People place faith in religions which grant individuals a degree of control over their fate. Ethan Frome questions these beliefs of underlying control in life. All three characters make decisions which they think most righteous at the time, yet all end up punished by their environment anyway. Harmon Gow explains that the uncontrollable environment of Starkfield traps "smart one" such as Ethan into a life of pain, despite their smart choices; Ethan has "been in Starkfield too many winters," (Wharton 13) and the winters imprison him. The reality that an individual could make their understanding of the all smartest choices in life and still end up imprisoned in a cold hell like Starkfield terrifies readers. Individuals laugh at Ethan, Zeena, and Mattie's victimization to fatalism to cope with fear of the exact same fate befalling themselves. People choose laughter over horror. In this aspect, readers are just like George and Martha from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Human conciseness reverts to jokes and laughter to cope with a reality it does not want to accept, just like the troubled married couple uses games to cope with their harsh reality, "when the world sits too heavy" (Albee). Ethan, too, chooses to dream of love with Mattie over the cold reality that they could not live happily ever after; he was "never so happy ... as when he abandoned himself to these dreams" (Wharton 26). Ethan is just like all people; humans choose laughter, games, and dreamed stories over reality because the illusion of control which these methods grant comforts people. Readers laugh at Ethan because control over laughter is far more pleasant than the rouge roll of dice.
I believe we differ from these characters, however, in that we understand the nature behind our methods for coping with reality. Even as we laugh at their pain, we understand the laughter is a method of avoiding sympathy for their woes. I believe this simple step of acknowledging the sympathy which the characters deserve sets us readers apart from George, Martha, and Ethan. They do not merely choose illusions over reality; they refuse to acknowledge reality altogether. They, almost literally, live in their illusions. Stories such as Ethan Frome and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf exist to warn readers of the consequences of living in total illusion.